Control head for wells



Jan. 23, 1934. u so 1,944,840

CONTROL HEAD FOR WELLS Filed Feb. 24, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 5257 uni/m Jan. 23, 1934.

Filed Feb. 24, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 47 27 45/ 2o /2 5a 5/ ,3 4L.

Patented Jan. 23, 1934 ITE D STATES 1,944,840 CONTROL HEAD FOR WELLS Granville A. Humason, Houston, Tex assignor of one-halt to Margia Manning, Hams County,

Tex.

Application February 24, 1933. Serial No. 658,394 11 Claims; (Cl..16615) This invention relates to' a control head for wells.

An object of the invention is to provide novel means for controlling the flow of fluid voluntarily flowing from a well.

Another object of the invention is to provide a control head of the character described having a plurality of flow lines and equipped with means for alternatively controlling said lines.

Another object is to provide a control head equipped with means for taking off the oil and the gas separately from the well.

Another object is to provide a control head equipped with flow controlling means of such construction that repairs and replacements may be readily and quickly made without seriously interfering with the flow of fiuid from the well.

Another object is to provide means for readily anchoring the control head to, and for easily detaching the same from the casing head.

Another object is to provide in a control head, novel means for anchoring the flow tubing in the well.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention has particular relation to certain features of construction, operation and arrangement of parts, an example of which is given in this specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 shows a vertical sectional view of the lower end of one form of the apparatus.

Figure 2 shows a vertical sectional view of theupper portion thereof taken at right angles to the view shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 shows a side view partly in section of another form of the apparatus as taken on the line 33 of Figure 1,

Figure 4 shows a cross sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 1, and Figure 5 shows a side view showing the upper end of a modified form of the upper end of the apparatus.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, wherein like numerals of reference designate similar parts in each of the figures, the numeral 1 designates the permanent casing adapted to be set in the well bore and attached to the upper end of wh ch there is the casing head 2 formed with the bowl 3 and having the inside upwardly facing shoulder 4 beneath said bowl. On this shoulder is located a supporting ring assembly comprising the lower and upper rings 5, 6, having the vertical assageways '7 therethrough. There is a tubular hanger 8 which rests on said supporting ring assembly and whose lower end is reduced forming the coupling 9 which extends down through said assembly and to whichthe upper end of the tubing 10 is connected.

Leading out from the bowl 3 above said ring assembly are the discharge lines 11, 11 which are preferably oppositely arranged. The hanger 8 has the inside downwardly tapering seat 12 and above said seat said hanger. has the lateral bearings 13 which continue through the walls of the hanger and are formed with the inwardly tapering seats 14, 14. Connecting nipples 15, 15 are threaded through the walls of the casing head 2 and their inner ends are blank andfitted into the correspondingbearings 13 and are reduced and tapered to fit closely within the corresponding seats 14. Around said reduced ends, and fitted within said bearings 13, are the packing sleeves 16, 16 which are annularly grooved to provide the annular lips l7, 18 on opposite sides of the joints between the seats 14 and the tapered ends of said nipples thus providing means for forming said joints fluid tight.

The fiow lines 19 lead out from the nipples 15.

Anchored to and upstanding from the hanger 8 there is an enlarged section of tubing 10' aligned with the permanent tubing 10 in the well and connected to the upper end of the tubing section 10 there is a cross connection forming a cylinder 20 and having the lateral connections 21, 21 from which the flow lines 22, 22 lead.

The lines 11, 19 and 22 may be equipped with suitable control valves such as indicated at 23, if

desired.

There is a vertically movable retractor tube 24 in the tubing section 10' and which extends on up through the cylinder 20 and whose upper end may be closed by the plug 25 and provided with the external coarse threads 26. The upper end of this tube has avertical key way 27 in which the inner end of the key 28, carried by the said cylinder, projects.

lieu of the plug 25.

There is a cap nut 29 mounted to swivel on the upper end of the cylinder 20 and threaded onto the upper end of the retractor tube 24. This cap nut is retained in place by means oi. the inwardly projecting pins 30 whose inner ends project into an external annular groove 31 at the upper end of said cylinder. The cap nut 29 is provided with sockets as 32 to receive a handle.

whereby said cap nut may be turned and theretractor tube thereby moved longitudinally. The lower end of the retractor tube is tapered as at 33 to conform to the contour of and to fit closely The upper end of the re-. tractor tube may be equipped with a valve 25 in v assembly comprising the cups 3'1, 38. These clip rings above referred to effectively prevent the flow of oil or gas up between the retractor tube 24 and the cylinder wherein it operates.

Within the upper end of the casing head and surrounding the tubing 10' there is a pressure head comprising the annular crown block 39 and the sleeve like packing 40 secured to and depending therefrom. The lower endof this packing sleeve is deeply grooved to provide the outer and inner annular lips 41, 42, the former of which fits closely against the wall of the casing head and the latter of which fits closely about the tubing section 10. Thepressure accumulated beneath will hold these lips in said close contact. The pressure head is retained in the casing head by the conventional breach block connection illustrated more accurately in Figure 4 whereby the pressure head may be readily anchored in and removed from the casing head. Within the shoulders 45 and between said shoulders and the upper end of the crown block 39 is a ring assembly comprising the upper end lower rings 46, 47. The adjacent faces of these rings are cam shaped whereby when the rings are relatively turned into one position they will exert an upward pull on the slips to wedge them tightly between the slip seat and the tubing 10 whereby the tubing in the well is securely anchored against a blowout. The niples 15 form additional means for anchoring the tubing in the well.

The hanger 8 has the ducts 48 leading from the space between the casing head and said hanger and terminating within the hanger and these ducts are controlled by the spring seated back pressure valves 49, 49.

By manipulating the cap nut 29 in one direction the retractor tube 24 may beelevated 01f of the seat 12 and the well fluid will be permitted to flow up through the permanent tubing 10 and out through the flow lines 19. When in this position ducts 48 and thence into the hanger and out through the flow lines 19. Under these conditions the flow lines '22 may be closedand repairs or replacements made if necessary. v

In case it should be desired/to make repairs or replacements on the flow lines 19 the cap nut 29 may berotated in the other direction and the 'retractor tube 24 run down, seating its lower end on the seat 12 and bringing the openings 34 into registration with the flow lines 22. This will close the flow lines 19 and-the repairs or replacements may be made without stopping the flow from the well, said flow continuing through the flow lines 22 and/or the discharge lines 11. I

If desired a. nipple 50 may be screwed into the livered from the well.

As shown in Figure 1 the casing head is formed of two sections, the lower section 2' being connected directly to the upper end of the casing 1 and having an inside downwardly converging seat 52 in which the tapering lower end of the upper section, or bowl, is seated. The joint between these sections is broken by an annular packing ring 53 which is seated in registering annular channels at said sections. Said packing ring 53 has a deep groove around its underside, thus forming the outer and inner annular lips 54, 55. Any fluid under pressure attempting to escape through this joint will be entrapped in said groove and will force said li s apart closely against the opposing walls of t e grooves in which the packing is seated to form a fluid tight joint. Around the upper end of the section 2' there is a ring 56 and the inner wall of this ring and the outer wall of the section 21 have the registering raceways 57, 58 in which are located the roller bearings 59 which look the ring against separation from the lower section 2' of the casing head. These roller bearings may be inserted through a side opening 60 of the ring 56 and this opening then closed by a suitable retainer plate or block 61. The ring 56 has the grips 62 by means of which it may be turned. The ring 56 may be interlocked with and released from the upper section or bowl of the casing head by the usual breach lock shown in Figure 1. With this form of the control head shown in Figure 1, when it is desired to make a connection or a disconnection with the tubing 10 in the well said tubing may be supported by the usual slips in the well known manner and the control head proper then assembled as a unit as shown in Figure 1 and swung over into position and connected to the upper end of the tubing in a well. The control head and tubing may be slightly elevated to release the slips and theslips removed and the control head and tubing then lowered and the control head assembly seated in the lower section 2' as shown in Figure 1 and the ring 56 then suitably turned to lock the parts together. In other respects the form shown in Figure 1 is the same as that shown in Figure 3.

The drawings and description disclose what is now considered to be preferred forms of the invention by way of illustration only, while the broad principle of the invention will be defined by the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A control head for wells comprising a casing head adapted to be connected to the top of a well casing, a hanger supported in the casing head and adapted to support a permanent flow tubing and having a flow conduit leading from said tubing out through the casing head, a rea well casing, a hanger supported in the casing head, and supporting a permanent flow tubing in the well and having a conduit leading from said flow tubing out through said casing head, a flow line, a retractor tube having an outlet, said retractor tube being movable into one position to close said conduit and to communicate said outlet with said flow line and movable into another position to open said conduit and close said flow line.

3. A control head for wells comprising a casing head adapted to be connected to the top of a '"ell casing, hanger supported in the casing head,

11d supporting a permanent flow tubing in the well and having a conduit leading from said flow tubing out through said casing head, a flow line, a retractor tube having an outlet, said retractor tube being movable into one position to close said conduit and to communicate said outlet with said flow line and movable into another position to open said conduit and close said flow line, said casing head having a discharge outlet .for the discharge of fluid from between the casing and flow tube.

4. In a control head for wells a casing head adapted to be attached to the top of a casing in a well and having an inside seat, a ring assembly on said seat, a hollow hanger on said ring assembly, a permanent flow tube supported by, and whose upper end is connected into, said hanger, said hanger having an outlet leading out through the casing head, a retractor tube 'moveable into one position to close said outlet and forming a continuation of said flow tubing when in said outlet-closing position.

5. In a control head for wells a casing head adapted to be attached to the top of a casing in a well and having an inside seat, a ring assembly on said seat, a hollow hanger on said ring assembly, a permanent flow tube supported by, and whose upper end is connected into, said hanger, said hanger having an outlet leading out through the casing head, a retractor tube moveable into one position to close said outlet and forming a continuation of said flow tubing when in said outlet-closing position, and a flow line with which said retractor tube communicates when the retractor tube is in said last named position.

6. A control head for wells comprising a casing head adapted to be attached to the top of a well casing and having an inside hanger seat, a hanger on said seat having a passageway for fluid, a flow tube supported by, and whose upper end is attached to, said hanger, said hanger having a conduit which leads from said passageway out through said casing head, a tube attached to and upstanding from said hanger, and forming a cylinder aligned with said flow tube and having a lateral outlet, a retractor tube in said cylinder having a lateral opening, means for moving said retractor tube into one position to close said conduit, and to align said opening with said outlet and into another position to open said conduit and close said outlet.

'7. A control head for wells comprising a casing head adapted to be attached to the top of a well casing and having an inside hanger seat, a hanger on said seat having a passageway for fluid, a flow tube supported by, and whose upper end is attached to, said hanger, said hanger having a conduit which leads from said passageway out through said casing head, a tube attached to and upstanding from said hanger, and

forming a cylinder aligned with said flow tube and 1 having a lateral outlet, a retractor tube in said cylinder having a lateral opening, means for moving said retractor tube into one position to close said conduit and to align said opening with said outlet and into another position to open said conduit and close said outlet.

8. A control head for wells comprising a casing head adapted to be attached to the top of a well casing and having an inside hanger seat, a hanger on said seat having a passageway for fluid, a flow tube supported by, and whose upper end is attached to, said hanger, said hanger having a conduit which leads from said passageway out through said casing head, a tube attached to and upstanding from said hanger and forming a cylinder aligned with said flow tube and having a lateral outlet, a retractor tube 'in said cylinder having a lateral opening, means for moving said retractor tube into one position to close said conduit, and to align said opening with said outlet and into another position to open said conduit and close said outlet, said hanger having a valve controlled duct leading from the space around said hanger into said passageway.

9. Flow controlling apparatus comprising a casing head, a tubular hanger'in the head for supporting a permanent flow tube in a well, there being an outlet conduit leadingfrom the passageway through the hanger out through the casinghead, a tube upstanding from the hanger and for'ming a cylinder provided with a lateral outlet, 2. retractor tube in said cylinder having a lateral opening, means for moving said retractor tube into one position to close said conduit and to register said opening with said outlet and into another position to open said conduit and close the outlet.

10. Flow controlling apparatus comprising a casing head, a tubular hanger in the head for supporting'a permanent flow tube in a well, there being an outlet conduit leading from the passageway through the hanger out through the casing head, a tube upstanding from the hanger and forming a cylinder provided with a lateral outlet, a retractor tube in said cylinder hav ing a lateral opening. means for moving said retractor tube into one position to close said conduit and to register said opening with said outlet and into another position to open said conduit and close the outlet, and means for anchoring said flow tube against upward movement.

11. Flow controlling apparatus comprising a casing head, a tubular hanger in the head for supporting a permanent flow tube in a well, there being an outlet conduit leading from the passageway through the hanger out through the casing head, a tube upstanding from the hanger and forming a cylinder provided with a lateral outlet, a retractor tube in said cylinder having a. lateral opening, means for moving said retractor tube into one position to close said conduit and to register said opening with said outlet and into another position to open said conduit and close the outlet, and a pressure head releasably retained in the casing head and closing the space between said head and cylinder.

GRANVILLE A. HUMASON. 

